Reputation
Data from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) placed the University amongst the twelve elite institutions who between them take more than half of the students with the highest A-level grades.
In August 2010, the University was ranked 10th in the UK and 59th best in the world by QS World University Rankings. The university is ranked 22nd in The Times 2010 Good University Guide, and 24th in The Guardian's 2010 rankings. It is rated 11th in the UK, 33rd in Europe and 99th best university in the world in the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 85th–87th by Global University Ranking.
Owing to Birmingham's role as a centre of light engineering, the University traditionally had a special focus on science, engineering and commerce, as well as coal mining. It now teaches a full range of academic subjects and has five-star rating for teaching and research in several departments; additionally, it is widely regarded as making a prominent contribution to cancer studies, hosting the first Cancer Research UK Centre.
The University is particularly known for its research. In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, two thirds of The University's departments ranked nationally or internationally outstanding. Languages, mathematics, biological sciences, physiotherapy, sociology and electrical and electronic engineering all recorded maximum points. It was rated fifth in the UK for research quality, with 32 departments holding a 5 or 5* rating. The Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) ranked 4th in the UK and 22nd in the world in the Hix rankings of political science departments. The sociology department also ranked 4th by the Guardian University guide. According to the results of the Research Assessment Exercise 2008, 90% of the University of Birmingham’s research activity has international impact. The Research Fortnight’s University Power Ranking, based on quality and quantity of research activity, put the University of Birmingham 12th in the UK, leading the way across a broad range of disciplines including Primary Care, Cancer Studies, Psychology and Sport and Exercise Sciences. The School of Computer Science ranked 5th in the latest Guardian University Guide and 6th in the recent Sunday Times League Table. The School of Physics and Astronomy also performs well in the rankings, being ranked 3rd in the 2012 Guardian University Guide and 7th in The Complete University Guide 2012.
As is the case with all of the 'redbrick' civic institutions, the University of Birmingham holds a sizeable student body and teaches a comparatively broader range of courses than smaller institutions. After taking up his post as vice-chancellor in April 2009, David Eastwood said:
When I was appointed, people described this university as a sleeping giant, and there is this feeling that although this is a great university, we could do even better. This is a university which can do yet more and I am here to play my part. That is the challenge, but it's not an easy challenge as we are competing in a global environment. We have some terrific, genuinely global leading research at this university, but we need to build on our research strengths and increase further the quality of our research and the impact of our research. Cancer research is as good here as anywhere, we have one of the best three psychology courses in the country, the best music departments and best sports science degrees in the country, and very good engineering. One of the great attractions of this university is that we have the breadth that other universities dream of, but it's fundamentally about building on our strengths.
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